How to graft a kapok tree? A step-by-step guide to grafting techniques
After the Beginning of Spring, it is a good time to graft kapok trees. Let's take a look at the grafting techniques for kapok trees below.
After the Beginning of Spring, temperatures gradually rise and the earth revives, making it very suitable for planting. In early spring, in February and March, it is the season when kapok flowers bloom, and they bloom most beautifully. However, this is also a good time to graft kapok trees. Below, Teacher Xiao Nong Ren will teach everyone the grafting techniques for kapok trees.
Grafting time
It is advisable to choose February to March for grafting kapok. In February to March, temperatures rise quickly, and the kapok begins to sprout and send out shoots. Grafting at this time makes it easier to survive.
Selecting scions
From a kapok mother tree that has already flowered, select current-year non-flowering branches that are two years old, robust, plump, with full buds, and free of pests and diseases as scions. The selected scions are required to have a diameter between 0.17 cm and 1.2 cm, with bud spacing of 1 to 2 cm. After collecting the scion branches, immediately cut off the leaves to reduce water loss from the branches, wrap the branches in a wet towel, and place them in a cool place. It is best to use them immediately after collection. When scions need to be stored for several days, seal both ends with paraffin and bury them in a sand bed, covering with a sand layer 4 cm to 6 cm thick, and pay attention to moisture retention and ventilation.
Grafting method
For kapok grafting, single-bud cut grafting is better. Experiments have found that no matter how many buds are retained on the scion, once the first bud sprouts and sends out shoots, the germination of the remaining buds is inhibited. When grafting, first cut the scion. The method is: select a plump bud on the scion, and on the opposite side, start the knife 0.15 cm from the lower end to cut a flat surface 1.5 to 2 cm long with little or no xylem, cut a 45° slanted cross-section on the opposite side, and cut off 1 cm above the bud. The scion length is 4 cm. For the rootstock seedling, cut the rootstock at a height of 15 cm above the ground, make a vertical cut on the smooth surface of the rootstock, with a length of 115 cm to 2 m, preferably with a little xylem. Insert the prepared scion into the graft union so that the cambium layers on both sides align and fit tightly, with the upper end of the scion exposed. Finally, tie it tightly with a plastic film strip from bottom to top. Wrap only one layer of grafting film at the scion bud, so that after successful grafting it can easily break through the film automatically.
The above is the kapok tree grafting technique introduced to you by Teacher Xiao Nong Ren. You can graft kapok trees based on experience and the above content. Follow Hui Nong Academy every day to learn more agricultural technical knowledge. May the broad masses of farmer friends become outstanding figures in the agricultural industry. We will wholeheartedly provide you with more comprehensive and more professional materials!
Kapok Bombax ceiba Kapok illustrated guide: how to grow kapok / how to propagate kapok
Kapok profileKapok Bombax ceiba
Kapok cultivation methods and precautions Kapok introduction
Kapok is a specialty of Guangdong and the city flower of Guangzhou. Its five petals with strong curves surround a dense cluster of yellow stamens, gathered in a firm calyx. Each flower is as big as a rice bowl, spreading downward from the top of the tree to meet the spring. Kapok is also called hero flower. Even its fall is extraordinarily bold. When it drops from the tree, it still maintains its original shape in the air, spinning all the way down, then landing on the ground with a "pop." Under the tree, fallen blossoms lie scattered. The flowers do not fade or wither, bidding farewell to the mortal world in a very heroic way.
Feature introduction
Kapok is a specialty of the south and the city flower of Guangzhou. Its five petals with strong curves surround a dense cluster of yellow stamens, gathered in a firm calyx. Each flower is as big as a rice bowl, spreading downward from the top of the tree to meet the spring. Kapok is a flower that belongs to spring, and it always enters full bloom only in March and April after the weather turns warm.
The kapok tree is a very peculiar tree. Although it is covered with red flowers, not a single green leaf can be found. It always seizes the time to shed its leaves in winter, bloom in spring, and grow leaves again after the flowers fade. In nature, many flowering plants, although their branches and leaves cannot stay with the flowers for a lifetime, still have some overlap. What about kapok? Its flowers and green leaves appear at two different times and rarely overlap. They may never set each other off, yet each has its own beauty.
The kapok tree, a tropical plant, although its flowers do not fall as delicately as cherry blossoms and do not scatter all over the ground at the slightest wind or rain, still enjoys the title of "hero tree." Although its flowering period is not long, its bird-attracting effect is excellent. While enjoying the flowers, you can also enjoy the birds. In the early spring season, you may as well go under a kapok tree to experience the birdsong and fragrance of flowers.
[Kapok flowering period] It blooms every year in March and April, with a flowering period of about 15 days.
Morphological characteristics of kapok
Kapok belongs to the Bombacaceae family. It is a large deciduous tree native to India. It is 10-20 m tall. The base of the trunk is densely covered with tubercular thorns, branches are whorled, and leaves are alternate. Every year in February to March, it first blooms, then grows leaves. The corolla has five petals and is orange-yellow or orange-red. The calyx is dark brown and leathery. After flowering, it bears oval large fruits, containing ovate seeds and white cotton floss. The tree is tall and majestic, with spreading branches, and the flowers are red as blood and as large as cups. The base of the trunk is densely covered with tubercular thorns to prevent animal intrusion. Branches are whorled, and leaves are alternate. Although the trunk of the kapok is thick, the wood is too soft, so it is of little use.
It is often taller than neighboring trees, hence the name hero tree. The trunk is upright with obvious tubercular thorns; palmately compound leaves are alternate, and the petioles are very long; it flowers before leafing out in early spring, with flowers clustered at the branch tips. The corolla is red or orange-red, about 12 cm in diameter, with 5 fleshy petals, elliptic-obovate, about 9 cm long, curved outward, with margins rolled inward, and both surfaces covered with stellate soft hairs; stamens are numerous, united into a tube, arranged in 3 whorls, with the outermost whorl gathered into 5 bundles; the capsule is very large, woody, oblong, up to 15 cm, and after maturity it splits open automatically, filled with cotton floss inside. The cotton hairs can be used as filling material for pillows, quilts, and the like. Seeds are numerous, obovate, black, smooth, hidden within the white hairs. The appearance of kapok changes greatly: in spring, the whole tree is orange-red; in summer, green leaves form shade; in autumn, branches and leaves are sparse; in winter, the branches are bare and the tree looks cold. It displays different charms in all four seasons. The flowers are orange-red and bloom in March to April, flowering before leafing out, and the tree shape has a masculine beauty.
Kapok flowers, cotton floss, and seeds
Every year in February to April, it first blooms, then grows leaves. The corolla has five petals, obovate, with stellate hairs on both surfaces, orange-yellow or orange-red, usually appearing in early spring earlier than the leaves. The calyx is dark brown and leathery. Kapok can also be used as medicine. Drying freshly fallen kapok flowers makes one of the main ingredients of the herbal tea Five-Flower Tea. After flowering, it bears oval large fruits. Around May, the fruit splits open, and the ovate seeds inside, together with the white cotton floss formed by extensions of the inner wall cells of the pericarp, scatter with the wind. Kapok seeds contain 20 to 25% oil and can be pressed to make soap and machine oil; the cotton cake left after oil pressing can be used as fertilizer or livestock feed. Because South China does not produce cotton, local residents over the years have collected cotton floss when it drifts about, using it to replace cotton as filling for cotton-padded jackets or weaving it into cloth. The trunk is upright with obvious tubercular thorns; lateral branches are whorled and spread horizontally; palmately compound leaves with very long petioles; flowers are large, orange-yellow or orange-red; the fruit is a capsule, which splits open automatically after maturity and is filled with cotton floss inside. The cotton hairs can be used as filling material for pillows, quilts, and the like.
Ecological habits of kapok
It is a tropical tree species and prefers a high-temperature, high-humidity climate environment. Its cold resistance is relatively low. When exposed to long-term low temperatures of 5-8°C, the branches suffer cold damage. It is averse to frost. In Guangzhou, Nanning, and other places in southern South China, it can safely overwinter outdoors in normal years, but in cold years it suffers freeze damage. In the vast areas from northern South China to North China, it can only be grown in pots, and in winter it should be moved into a greenhouse or indoors, where the room temperature should not be lower than 10°C. It likes light and cannot tolerate shade. It withstands fierce sunlight and high temperatures, and should be planted in a place with sufficient sunlight.
It is not demanding regarding soil, and both sandy soil and heavy clay soil are suitable. It prefers acidic soil, is relatively drought-tolerant, and also slightly tolerant of waterlogging. Its demand for fertility is not very high. Generally, in soil with medium fertility and relatively high phosphorus and potassium fertilizer, it blooms profusely and the color is also vivid. In soil with sufficient moisture and relatively high nitrogen fertilizer, the branches and leaves are luxuriant and it also blooms more, but the color is less vivid. When planting, it is advisable to apply decomposed cake fertilizer or garbage as base fertilizer, and before flowering and during full bloom, apply additional phosphorus and potassium fertilizer. The tree shape is not very attractive, but it has sprouting ability. In management, trunk truncation or pruning and shaping can be used to promote a full crown. It can also be planted with 3 to 5 plants in one place to improve the ornamental effect.
Distribution area of kapok
[Place of origin] The place of origin of the tree is unknown, but it very likely originated in India. It was widely planted in South China, Taiwan, China, Indochina, and the South Sea Islands as people migrated. According to ancient Chinese records, Zhao Tuo, King of Nanyue, once presented a kapok tree to the Han imperial court in the 2nd century BC. Kapok also comes in white kapok and red kapok!
[Main cultivation areas in our country] It is cultivated in Guangzhou, Zhuhai, Kunming, Shenzhen, Fuzhou, Xiamen, and other places in our country. In particular, in Guangzhou and Xiamen, kapok is planted as a street tree all over the streets. Every year just after the Lantern Festival, kapok trees begin to bloom!
Origin of the name kapok
Fenghuo originates from Zhao Tuo, King of Nanyue, and it got its name because the tree full of red flowers resembles beacon fire; Gubei comes from the transliteration of the Sanskrit word Karpassa; Jibei is believed to come from the transliteration of the South Sea language word Ceiba. This name originally referred to the Java kapok Ceiba pentandra, and because of similar shapes they were confused; the name Qiongzhi refers to trees of kapok growing on Hainan (Qiong) Island, hence the name. In forests, the top of a kapok tree often surpasses other trees, so it is called the hero tree.
Because kapok usually blooms in March and April, April 11 was designated as Kapok Day.
As early as 1931, kapok was once designated as the city flower of Guangzhou. In June 1982, the Guangzhou Municipal People's Government again designated kapok as the city flower, further deepening the favor and respect of Guangzhou citizens for kapok.
Uses and purposes of kapok
In addition to its high ornamental value, kapok's flowers, bark, and roots all have medicinal value. Boiling dried kapok flowers into porridge or making soup can detoxify, clear heat, dispel cold, and remove dampness; boiling kapok bark in water also has effects such as clearing heat, promoting urination, and detoxifying, and has significant therapeutic effects on chronic gastritis, gastric ulcers, diarrhea, dysentery, and the like.
In addition, kapok has a wide range of uses. Its stamens are a very good textile material. Ancient books record: "The kapok tree is two or three zhang tall, somewhat like the tong tree. In February and March, after the flowers fade, the core becomes floss. The people there weave it into blankets, white as snow, incomparably warm." The wood of kapok is soft and can be used to make packing crate boards, matchsticks, wooden boats, buckets and basins, and is also a raw material for papermaking.
Medicinal dietary or medicinal value of kapok
The medical information and health dietary information on Huahua Network are for reference only and cannot be used as a basis for diagnosis or medical treatment. Any health problem should be consulted with professional medical personnel, and the treatment of any disease should follow medical advice.
Ultimate flower-protecting mission: love yourself, and start from reality by strictly following medical advice. Toward illness, do not be careless, do not delay, do not give up hope, face it bravely, use love to warm the silent world, and use your heart to care for the flower field within.
The medical content on Huahua Network is for reference only and cannot be regarded as professional advice. For any health problem, professional medical personnel should be consulted. Medicinal information (1)
[Chinese name] Kapok, hero tree, red kapok, banmangmian, banmang tree, haitong, jibei, Guangdong haitong, panzhihua, cotton, molian
[Chinese pinyin] Mumian
[English name] Tree Cotton, Common Bombax, Wood Cottontree, Cotton Tree, Silk-cotton Tree, Bombax, Red Silk-cotton Tree
[Latin scientific name] Bombax malabaricum DC.
[Family and genus classification] Bombacaceae, Bombax
[Plant morphology] Large deciduous tree, up to 25 m tall. Bark dark gray, trunk often with conical coarse prickles, branches spreading. Palmately compound leaves; common petiole 10-20 cm long; leaflets 5-7, oblong to oblong-lanceolate, 10-16 cm long, 3.5-5.5 cm wide; petiolules 1.5-4 cm long. Flowers borne in leaf axils near branch tips, blooming before leaves, red or orange-red, about 10 cm in diameter; calyx cup-shaped, thick, 3-5 shallowly lobed; petals fleshy, obovate-oblong, 8-10 cm long, both surfaces covered with stellate soft hairs; stamens numerous, lower part united into a short tube, arranged in 3 whorls, some filaments of the inner whorl forked in the upper part, the middle 10 stamens shorter, not forked, the outermost whorl gathered into 5 bundles, anthers 1-loculed, kidney-shaped, peltately attached; style longer than stamens; ovary 5-loculed. Capsule oblong, woody, 10-15 cm long, covered with gray-white long soft hairs and stellate hairs, dehiscing by 5 valves along the septa, with silky cotton hairs inside. Seeds numerous, obovate, black, hidden within the cotton hairs. Flowering in spring, fruiting in summer.
[Habitat and distribution] It grows in dry-hot river valleys, savannas, rainforest valleys, low mountains below 1400-**** m altitude, in secondary forests, and by villages and roadsides. It is distributed in South China, Southwest China, and Jiangxi, Fujian, Taiwan, China, and other places. The medicinal material is mainly produced in Yunnan and Guangdong. The medicinal material is mainly produced in Yunnan and Guangdong.
[Medicinal parts] The flowers, bark, roots, or root bark are used as medicine. Chinese medicinal names: flowers: mumianhua. Bark: mumianpi. Roots and root bark: mumiangen.
[Harvesting and processing] Flowers: harvested in late spring, dried in the shade. Bark: can be collected throughout the year; peel off the bark and sun-dry. Roots and root bark: can be collected throughout the year, with those collected in autumn and winter being of better quality. Dig up the roots, wash them, use fresh or slice them; or peel off the root bark and sun-dry.
[Main components] The calyx contains protein, carbohydrates, ash, and other components. The seeds contain various amino acids and fatty acids; they also contain carotenoid, β-sitosterol, α-tocopherol, n-hexacosanol, octadecyl palmitate, gallic acid, and other components.
[Pharmacological effects] Flowers: liver-protective effect. Bark: anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antibacterial. Roots and root bark: anti-inflammatory, anti-liver injury.
[Nature, flavor, and functions] Flowers: sweet, bland, cool. Bark: pungent, bitter, cool. Roots and root bark: bitter, cool. Flowers: clear heat, promote diuresis, detoxify, stop bleeding. Bark: clear heat and detoxify, dissipate blood stasis and stop bleeding. Roots and root bark: dispel wind and dampness, clear heat and detoxify, dissipate masses and relieve pain.
[Indications and usage] Flowers: diarrhea, dysentery, hemoptysis, metrorrhagia, bleeding from metal wounds, sores and toxins, eczema. Roots and root bark: rheumatic arthralgia, stomach pain, red dysentery, postpartum edema, scrofula, bruises and sprains. Flowers: oral use: decoct in water, 9-15 g, or take as powder. Bark: oral use: decoct in water, 15-30 g. External use: appropriate amount, pound and apply. Roots and root bark: oral use: decoct in water, 15-30 g. External use: appropriate amount, soak in wine and rub on, or pound and apply.
1. Bacillary dysentery, acute and chronic gastroenteritis: fresh kapok flowers 60 g. Decoct in water, mix with winter honey and take. (Fujian Medicinal Records)
2. Summer sweating with restlessness and heat: appropriate amount of kapok flowers, steep in boiling water and take. (Sichuan Traditional Chinese Medicine Records)
3. Gastric cancer: kapok bark 1150 g, lean pork 150 g, add 5 kg water, cook for 7-8 hours, decoct thickly to 1 bowl, take once daily. If after taking continuously for 1 week the pain gradually decreases, continue taking until recovery, without interruption. (Anti-Cancer Materia Medica)
4. Rheumatoid arthritis: kapok root 30-60 g. Decoct in water or soak in wine and take. (Fujian Medicinal Records)
Medicinal information (2)
Source: The dried flowers of the Bombacaceae plant kapok Gossampinus malabarica (DC.) Merr.
The original plant kapok is a large deciduous tree, up to 25 m tall; the stem and large branches have short, thick conical hard prickles, and the bark is gray-white. Leaves alternate, palmately compound with 5-7 leaflets; leaflets oblong or elliptic, 10-20 cm long, 5-7 cm wide, apex acuminate, base broad or slightly narrow, margin entire. Flowers bloom before leaves in early spring, red, about 10 cm in diameter or larger, clustered near the branch tips; calyx cup-shaped, 3-4.5 cm long, apex 5-shallowly lobed, lobes broad and blunt; petals 5, fleshy, oblong, 8-10 cm long, both surfaces covered with stellate soft hairs; stamens numerous, arranged in multiple whorls, filaments united at the base. Fruit large, woody, 10-15 cm long, the inner surface of the fruit valves with abundant cotton hairs; seeds numerous, obovate, black.
It prefers to grow in dry-hot mountainous areas. It is distributed in Hainan, Taiwan, China, Guangxi, Yunnan, and southern Sichuan; it is widely cultivated in Guangdong and south of central Fujian. It also occurs in India, Indochina, Malaysia, and tropical Australia.
Harvesting and processing: Pick or gather fully opened flowers in spring. Sun-dry.
Medicinal material characteristics: The whole flower is 5-8 cm long, wrinkled when dry, in irregular block shapes, mostly without ovary and pedicel. The calyx is cup-shaped, 2.5-4 cm long, 2-3 cm in diameter, apex 3-5-lobed, thickly leathery, very brittle, externally brown-black, with longitudinal wrinkles, and the inner surface covered with gray-yellow short tomentum. Petals 5, wrinkled or broken, surface brown-yellow or dark brown, covered with stellate hairs, inner surface red-brown, with fewer stellate hairs; stamens numerous, arranged in multiple rows, united at the base, anthers kidney-shaped, curled. Slight odor, taste bland and slightly sweet. Those with large, complete flowers and brown-yellow color are considered best.
Nature, flavor, and functions: Bland, astringent, neutral. Clear heat, promote diuresis, detoxify. Used for diarrhea, dysentery, metrorrhagia, sores and toxins. Common dosage 5-10 g.
Note: The bark of kapok is used as haitong bark medicine in Guangdong, called Guangdong haitong bark. Bitter in taste, neutral in nature, with the function of dispelling wind-dampness.
Functions: Clear heat, promote diuresis, detoxify. Used for diarrhea, dysentery, metrorrhagia, sores and toxins.
Nature and flavor: Bland, astringent, neutral.
Various discussions
1. Sheng Cao Yao Xing Bei Yao: Treats dysentery; the white ones are even better.
2. Ben Cao Qiu Yuan: The red ones treat red dysentery, the white ones treat white dysentery; decoct with Wuyi tea and drink regularly.
3. Ling Nan Cai Yao Lu: Relieves summer heat.
4. Zhong Yao Xin Bian: Diuretic and stomachic.
5. Nan Ning Shi Yao Wu Zhi: Removes damp-heat. Treats metrorrhagia and incised wounds.
6. Guang Xi Zhong Yao Zhi: Removes damp toxins, treats malignant sores.
7. Guangzhou Army Common Chinese Herbal Medicine Manual: Clears heat and promotes diuresis, treats enteritis and bacillary dysentery.
Medicinal material source
It is the dried flowers of the Bombacaceae plant kapok Gossampinus malabarica (DC.) Merr.
Harvesting and processing
Pick or gather fully opened flowers in spring. Sun-dry.
Medicinal material characteristics
The whole flower is 5-8 cm long, wrinkled when dry, in irregular block shapes, mostly without ovary and pedicel. The calyx is cup-shaped, 2.5-4 cm long, 2-3 cm in diameter, apex 3-5-lobed, thickly leathery, very brittle, externally brown-black, with longitudinal wrinkles, and the inner surface covered with gray-yellow short tomentum. Petals 5, wrinkled or broken, surface brown-yellow or dark brown, covered with stellate hairs, inner surface red-brown, with fewer stellate hairs; stamens numerous, arranged in multiple rows, united at the base, anthers kidney-shaped, curled. Slight odor, taste bland and slightly sweet. Those with large, complete flowers and brown-yellow color are considered best.
Nature, flavor, and functions
Bland, astringent, neutral. Clear heat, promote diuresis, detoxify. Used for diarrhea, dysentery, metrorrhagia, sores and toxins. Common dosage 5-10 g.
Notes
Extracts from the roots and stems of kapok can be used as astringents, analgesics, and the like. Its sap can be used to treat dysentery. Its root bark, stem bark, and prickles, ground into powder and made into ointment, can be used to treat acne. Also, kapok flowers are truly beautiful enough to eat! It is said that whenever kapok flowers bloom, many elderly people and children in the villages pick them up when they see them fall, then dry them, and use them to make tea, cook soup, and use as medicine.
The bark of kapok is used as haitong bark medicine in Guangdong, called Guangdong haitong bark. Bitter in taste, neutral in nature, with the functions of dispelling wind-dampness, unblocking meridians, and killing insects. Treats rheumatic arthralgia, dysentery, toothache, and scabies.
① Hai Yao Ben Cao: Mainly treats inability to walk due to waist and leg problems, stubborn arthralgia with pain in the legs and knees, cholera, red and white diarrhea and dysentery, bloody dysentery, and scabies.
② Ri Hua Zi Ben Cao: Treats numbness and pain of the blood vessels, and can be decocted to wash red eyes.
③ Kai Bao Ben Cao: Mainly treats cholera, sudden collapse, chronic red and white dysentery, and removes ganfei and scabies. For toothache due to worms, decoct and take it and hold it in the mouth; soak in water and wash the eyes to remove redness of the skin.
④ Gang Mu: Can move through the meridians and reach the site of disease, also enters the blood aspect, and dispels wind and kills insects.
⑤ Ling Nan Cai Yao Lu: Promotes tissue regeneration, relieves pain, dissipates blood, cools the skin, and is applied for bruises.
⑥ Nan Ning Shi Yao Wu Zhi: Reduces swelling, dissipates blood stasis, relieves pain. Treats cough, and stops postpartum pain due to blood stasis.
⑦ Gui Zhou Cao Yao: Relieves heat and removes blood stasis, detoxifies and promotes tissue regeneration. Treats breast abscess and fractures.
Medicinal effects and functions
Kapok flower is the dried flower of the Bombacaceae plant kapok. Kapok flower is also known as banzhishu, hero tree, and panzhihua. Kapok flower has the effects of clearing heat and promoting diuresis, detoxifying, and stopping bleeding. Kapok flower is used to treat diarrhea, dysentery, metrorrhagia, and sores and toxins. The bark of kapok is used as haitong bark medicine in Guangdong, called Guangdong haitong bark. Bitter in taste, neutral in nature, it has the effect of dispelling wind-dampness.
Medicinal information (3)
Name: Kapok flower
Aliases: banzhishu, hero tree, panzhihua
Family and genus: Bombacaceae, large deciduous tree
Nature and flavor: Bland, astringent, neutral.
Effects: Clear heat, promote diuresis, detoxify.
Indications: Used for diarrhea, dysentery, metrorrhagia, sores and toxins.
Usage and dosage: Common dosage 5-10 g.
Source: Kapok flower is the dried flower of the Bombacaceae plant kapok.
Note: The bark of kapok is used as haitong bark medicine in Guangdong, called Guangdong haitong bark. Bitter in taste, neutral in nature, with the function of dispelling wind-dampness.
Folk medicinal formulas
1. To treat dysentery: kapok flowers, honeysuckle, and Chinese brake herb 15 g each, decoct in water and take.
2. To treat red and white dysentery: kapok flowers and tea leaves 15-30 g each, decoct in water and take.
3. To treat damp-heat dysentery: kapok flowers 15 g, houttuynia 12 g, thorny amaranth root 30 g, decoct in water and take.
4. To treat postpartum wind in women: 60 g of the second-layer bark of kapok root, 30 g of safflower serratula root, decoct in water and take with wine.
5. To treat lung cancer and intestinal cancer: kapok root 15-30 g, decoct with 3 bowls of water to more than half a bowl and take warm.
6. To treat stomach pain: kapok root or bark 30 g, prickly ash 6 g, decoct in water and take.
7. To treat bleeding after bowel movements: kapok bark 30 g, lean pork 90 g, cook as soup and take.
8. To treat arthralgia: kapok root 30 g, decoct in water and take.
Dietary nutrition Kapok tangerine peel porridge
[Ingredients]: Fresh kapok flowers 30 g, tangerine peel 10 g, japonica rice 100 g, appropriate amount of honey.
[Preparation]: Wash the kapok flowers and tangerine peel, add water and decoct to make juice, remove the residue and set aside; wash the japonica rice, add water and the kapok tangerine peel juice and cook porridge; when the porridge is almost done, add an appropriate amount of honey and cook briefly until done.
[Effects]: Strengthens the spleen and removes dampness, cools the blood and stops bleeding, moistens the lungs and relieves cough.
Kapok flowers have the effects of clearing heat and draining dampness, detoxifying and stopping bleeding; dried tangerine peel and honey can moisten the lungs and stop cough; and japonica rice can strengthen the spleen and benefit the stomach. Used together, the three further enhance the functions of strengthening the spleen and draining dampness and of moistening the lungs and stopping cough, and are especially suitable for the elderly with qi deficiency.
Three-Flower Kapok Drink
[Ingredients]: 15 g dried kapok petals, 10 g honeysuckle flowers, 10 g white chrysanthemum flowers.
[Preparation]: Wash the kapok petals, honeysuckle flowers and white chrysanthemum flowers; add water and bring to a boil; can be drunk as a tea substitute.
[Effects]: Clears heat and detoxifies, cools the blood and stops dysentery.
Kapok flowers, honeysuckle flowers and white chrysanthemum flowers all have heat-clearing effects: kapok flowers clear heat and cool the blood, honeysuckle flowers clear heat and detoxify, and white chrysanthemum flowers clear the liver and brighten the eyes. Used together, the three further enhance the effects of clearing heat, cooling the blood and stopping dysentery. Drinking this beverage regularly in the hot summer months also has a heat-relieving effect.
Kapok Crucian Carp Soup
[Ingredients]: 1 crucian carp (about 250 g), 30 g fresh kapok petals, 50 g mushrooms, 30 g bamboo shoot tips, and appropriate amounts of scallion white, ginger, yellow wine, salt, pepper and monosodium glutamate.
[Preparation]: Remove the gills and internal organs of the crucian carp, wash clean and drain well; wash the kapok petals and drain; slice the mushrooms and bamboo shoot tips; when the oil in the wok is hot, first add the ginger and scallion white and stir-fry until fragrant, then add the crucian carp and fry thoroughly, add water, and add the mushrooms, bamboo shoots, kapok petals, yellow wine and pepper and cook together; finally season with monosodium glutamate and salt and transfer to a plate.
[Effects]: Strengthens the spleen and nourishes the stomach, clears heat and drains dampness, cools the blood and stops bleeding.
Both kapok flowers and crucian carp can clear heat and drain dampness; crucian carp can also strengthen the spleen and nourish the stomach. With the addition of mushrooms and bamboo shoots, the flavor is even more delicious, and the polysaccharides in mushrooms also have the effects of boosting the body's immunity and fighting cancer.
Kapok Shrimp and Tofu
[Ingredients]: 30 g fresh kapok petals, 500 g tofu, 100 g shrimp, 50 g bamboo shoot tips, 30 g ham, 50 g green peas, and appropriate amounts of chicken stock, salt, monosodium glutamate, pepper, ginger and scallion white.
[Preparation]: Wash the kapok petals and drain; wash the shrimp and drain for later use; dice the bamboo shoots and ham, and cut the tofu into small pieces; when the oil in the wok is hot, first stir-fry the ginger and scallion white until fragrant; then add the shrimp, diced bamboo shoots, ham and green peas and stir-fry together; then put the shrimp, diced bamboo shoots and tofu etc. into a clay pot, add the kapok petals, pour in the chicken stock and cook together, and season with salt, monosodium glutamate and pepper to finish.
[Effects]: Clears heat and drains dampness, relieves stagnation and dispels vexation. Kapok flowers have the function of clearing heat and draining dampness, tofu can relieve heat and dispel vexation, and bamboo shoots can moisten the intestines. Simmered together with shrimp, ham and chicken stock, it is not only fragrant and delicious but also further enhances the effects of clearing heat, draining dampness and cooling the blood. The isoflavones in tofu also have antioxidant and anti-aging effects.
Kapok Mushroom Soup
[Ingredients]: 20 g fresh kapok petals, 30 g fresh oyster mushrooms, 30 g fresh button mushrooms, 30 g fresh king oyster mushrooms, 30 g bamboo shoot tips, and appropriate amounts of salt, monosodium glutamate and chicken stock.
[Preparation]: Wash the fresh kapok petals and blanch them in water for later use; thinly slice the oyster mushrooms, button mushrooms, king oyster mushrooms and bamboo shoots; put the oyster mushrooms, button mushrooms, king oyster mushrooms, bamboo shoots and kapok flowers etc. into a pot, add chicken stock and water and cook together, and season with monosodium glutamate and salt.
[Effects]: Clears heat and cools the blood, strengthens the spleen and harmonizes the stomach.
Kapok flowers have a heat-clearing and blood-cooling effect, and bamboo shoots have the effect of removing stagnation and dispersing accumulations. The polysaccharides in oyster mushrooms, button mushrooms, king oyster mushrooms and other mushrooms have the function of regulating human immunity and fighting cancer. Used together, they are not only delicious but also more effective.
Simmering a Fine Kapok Soup
[Materials]: 30 g kapok flowers, 35 g each of fox nut (qian shi) and coix seed (available in Chinese medicine shops), 4 candied dates, 1 crucian carp, 50 g lean pork, 4 slices of ginger.
[Preparation]: Wash each item separately. Soak the medicinal herbs briefly; remove the pits from the candied dates; slaughter and wash the crucian carp, and fry until slightly yellow, then splash in a little clear water. Put everything into a clay pot, add 2000 ml clear water (about 8 bowls), bring to a rolling boil over high heat, then reduce to low heat and simmer for about 1.5 hours, add salt and it is ready; serves 3 to 4 people.
[Effects]: Removes dampness and promotes urination, strengthens the spleen and soothes the liver. Kapok flowers are often a good ingredient for removing dampness among the people of Guangdong; they both have a dampness-removing effect and are mild and gently nourishing, making them most suitable for use in early spring.
Cultivation Techniques of Kapok: Overview of Cultivation
[Biological Characteristics] It prefers a warm climate and is a representative tree species of tropical monsoon forests. It is not cold-tolerant, prefers light, is drought-tolerant, grows rapidly, has strong sprouting ability, has a deep root system and strong wind resistance. It grows best in deep, fertile acidic and neutral soils.
[Cultivation Techniques] Propagated by sowing, cuttings and division. Collect the capsules before they split open; the viability of the seeds is short-lived, so they are mostly sown as soon as collected, or they can be stored short-term in damp sand. Sow in drills, covering with 2 cm of soil; at an average temperature above 20°C, seedlings generally emerge completely in 4 to 5 d. Cuttings are mostly taken in February to March or during the rainy season, using large branches 80 to 100 cm long and 1 to 2 cm in diameter, inserted 10 to 15 cm deep into the seedbed, keeping the bed moist at all times. Division is done from the sprouting shoots at the base of the mother plant; cutting off a section of the mother root together with the fibrous roots and replanting makes it easier to survive.
[Field Management] Seedling plants do not need transplanting; when the seedlings are too dense, after one thinning they can be left to grow, with topdressing 1 to 2 times a month. Seedlings are afraid of frost; in the first year when winter comes, the young seedlings should be watered and covered with grass to prevent frost damage. After planting, cuttings should be shaded and sprayed with water; half a month after the seedlings have recovered they can be given a light topdressing, and thereafter regular hoeing and weeding should be carried out.
Cultivation of Rootstock
In the Panzhihua City area, kapok seeds mature in April to May and can then be harvested. Because the seeds are high in oil and easily deteriorate and lose their germinating power, it is generally required to sow them promptly in the same year they are collected. Seedbed raising of seedlings uses drilling and broadcasting; for drilling, the row spacing is 20 cm and the depth 5 cm, with seeds sown in the furrows. Cover with 2 cm of soil, cover the surface soil with grass, and germination begins 6 to 7 d after sowing, with basically complete emergence in 13 to 15 d. After the seedlings emerge, loosen the soil and weed promptly, and thin and weed appropriately, paying attention to the prevention and control of pests and diseases. When the seedlings are 4 to 5 cm tall and have 2 or more primary leaves, they can be moved into nutrient bags; when the seedlings are about 40 cm tall they can be transplanted to grow into large seedlings. When the seedlings have a diameter at breast height of 1 m to 115 cm, they can be grafted.
Grafting Time
In the Panzhihua area, it is suitable to graft kapok in February to March and June to July. In February to March the temperature rises quickly and kapok begins to sprout and put out shoots, so grafting at this time readily survives. In April to May the temperature is high, which easily causes the scions to dry up. June to July is the period when the rainy season is more concentrated in the Panzhihua area, and the temperature drops somewhat; rainy days should be avoided when grafting.
Selecting Scions
From mother kapok trees that have already flowered, select two-year-old current-year non-flowering branches that are robust, plump, with full buds and free of pests and diseases as scions. The selected scions are required to have a diameter of between 0.17 cm and 1.2 cm, with bud spacing of 1 to 2 cm. The collected scion branches must immediately have their leaves cut off to reduce water loss from the branches, and the branches should be wrapped in a damp towel and placed in a cool place; it is best to use them as soon as they are collected. When the scions need to be stored for several days, their two ends can be sealed with paraffin and buried in a sand bed, covered with a sand layer 4 cm to 6 cm thick, taking care to keep them moist and ventilated.
Grafting Method
For kapok grafting, single-bud cut grafting is better; experiments have found that no matter how many buds are left on the scion, once the first bud sprouts and puts out shoots, the germination of the remaining buds is inhibited. When grafting, first cut the scion; the method is: select a plump bud on the scion, and on the opposite side, starting the knife 0.15 cm from the lower end, cut a flat surface 1.5 to 2 cm long with little or no wood, cut a 45° slanting cross-section on the opposite side, and cut off 1 cm above the bud, giving a scion length of 4 cm. For the rootstock seedlings, it is required to cut the stock at a height of 15 cm above the ground, make a vertical cut on the smooth side of the rootstock, 115 cm to 2 m long, preferably with a little wood, insert the prepared scion into the graft union, align and closely join the cambium on both sides, with the upper end of the scion exposed. Finally, bind tightly from bottom to top with plastic film tape, wrapping only one layer of grafting film over the scion bud, so that it easily breaks through the film automatically after the graft has taken.
Routine Management
[Re-grafting]: 10 to 15 d after grafting, check the survival situation. If the bud is fresh and the leaf stalk falls off at a light touch, this indicates survival; if the scion turns brown, the leaf stalk does not easily fall off, and the scion feels soft when squeezed by hand, this indicates the graft has not taken and re-grafting should be carried out immediately.
[Loosening the tape]: After the graft has taken, let the scion bud break through the film automatically. New shoots from grafting sprout rather slowly; the first few new leaves put out are all pink, and after about 2 to 3 weeks the leaf color begins to turn tender green and the leaves unfold. Once the young leaves have completely turned green and flattened, the plastic film tape can be loosened to avoid affecting the growth of the new shoot. However, the binding at the healed graft union cannot be removed immediately, in order to protect the scion from damage.
[Removing sprouts]: For grafted seedlings that have taken, the sprouts on the rootstock must be removed at any time, so that nutrients are concentrated in supplying the new shoots that have successfully taken.
[Other Management]:
Carry out timely hoeing and weeding and reasonable watering, emphasizing light fertilizer applied frequently, with emphasis on nitrogen fertilizer. New shoots are often harmed by leaf beetles and geometer moth herbivorous insects, such as alder leaf beetles and Chinese pistache geometer moth larvae. When the damage is slight, manual capture and killing can be used; when the affected area is relatively large, chemical control is adopted: commonly used are 80% dichlorvos or 50% fenitrothion at 800 times dilution, 25% phosmet emulsifiable concentrate at 800 to 1000 times dilution, 80% chlordimeform at 1000 times dilution, etc.
Cultural Background of Kapok: Cultural Meaning
The kapok tree is the city flower of Guangzhou, Chaozhou, Panzhihua and Chongzuo in China, and of Kaohsiung, Taiwan, China. Because its trunk is tall and sturdy, in South China it is compared to a hero, and it is also called hero tree. The late Hong Kong, China pop music giant Roman Tam had a song "Red Cotton," which used the kapok tree as a metaphor for the proud spirit of Chinese people. In addition, it is also the county tree of Kinmen County, symbolizing the local people's resolute character and their bright future prospects.
In addition, there is also a Cotton Tree Road in Admiralty on Hong Kong Island, and the Cotton Tree Road Marriage Registry located in Hong Kong Park is also a popular spot for Hong Kong people to get married.
The song "Kapok Road" is a folk song related to kapok flowers, composed by Taiwan folk singer Ma Zhaojun, and the first line of the lyrics is "Red flowers bloom all over Kapok Road, the long street seems to be burning," describing the scene of kapok flowers blooming along the road.
The logo of China Southern Airlines consists of an abstracted large red kapok flower set against a sapphire blue pattern of the aircraft's vertical tail fin. The kapok flower is a flower peculiar to South China, and since 1982 it has always been the city flower of Guangzhou, symbolizing an open and passionate style.
Documentary Records
Kapok was first recorded in Ge Hong's Miscellaneous Records of the Western Capital from the Jin dynasty: during the Western Han, Zhao Tuo, King of Nanyue, presented to the Han emperor a beacon-fire tree, "one zhang two chi tall, one trunk with three branches, whose glow at night seemed about to burn," and it is said that this beacon-fire tree was the kapok tree. The people of Guangzhou have a special feeling for kapok, because kapok has always benefited Lingnan.
The Cantonese used kapok as cotton wadding to make cotton garments, quilts and pillows, and the Tang dynasty poet Li Cong had the line "clothing cut from cotton on the tree." Zheng Xiong of the Song dynasty recorded in Miscellaneous Records of Panyu: "The kapok tree is two or three zhang tall, quite like the tung tree; when the flowers have faded in the second or third month, the core becomes cotton. The people there weave it into blankets, white as snow and incomparably warm." Kapok flowers can also be used as medicine; collected at the end of spring each year, dried in the sun, and after impurities are picked out and they are cleaned, they are decocted in water and taken, and can clear heat and remove dampness.
Kapok flowers are relatively large and orange-red in color, extremely beautiful, and can be enjoyed for their beauty. In ancient Guangzhou, kapok trees were planted very widely, among which the more than ten trees in front of the Nanhai God Temple were the most ancient. Every year in the second month of the old calendar, kapok flowers bloom in full, and as many as several thousand people come to view them each day, making a lively scene, and Qu Dajun of the Qing dynasty praised it with "Song of the Ancient Kapok Flowers at the Nanhai God Temple." Now there are still two ancient kapok trees at the Nanhai God Temple, having endured wind and frost for a long time, still tall and upright.
The kapok tree is a fast-growing, strongly heliophilous tree species, and its crown always rises above the surrounding tree groups to strive for sunlight and rain. This striving, upward spirit of the kapok and its bright, fire-like large red flowers have been praised as the hero tree and hero flower. The earliest person to call kapok "hero" was Chen Gongyin of the Qing dynasty; in 1959, Guangzhou mayor Zhu Guang wrote 50 poems in "Gazing at Jiangnan: Guangzhou Is Good," among which is the line "Guangzhou is good; people say the kapok is heroic. Leaves fall, flowers bloom, flying fire phoenixes; towering to the sky and holding up the sun, dancing red dragons. March is just the spring breeze."
Cultural Inheritance: Cultural Symbol
Kapok is now the city flower of Guangzhou in Guangdong Province, Chongzuo in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Panzhihua in Sichuan Province, and Kaohsiung in Taiwan Province. At present, the logos used by the Garden Hotel, China Southern Airlines and Guangzhou Television feature the kapok flower pattern, while Guangdong Television also used a kapok flower logo in the past.
Related Verses
To whom can one buy Yao's yellow and Wei's purple? Even plum and cherry are nowhere to be had. Yet the spring colors of the south are different: the whole city is full of kapok flowers. - Yang Wanli, Song dynasty
Remember the Shangsi day in the south of the city, when kapok flowers fell and Indian coral trees bloomed. - Su Shi, Song dynasty
Several trees in mid-sky, red as if dyed; the residents say they are kapok flowers. - Liu Kezhuang, Song dynasty
In Guangdong, when the second and third months come, thousands upon thousands of trees bloom with vermilion flowers. Like Yao shooting ten suns emerging from the vast sea, and like the Wei palace's ten thousand torches encircling a high terrace. Covered they are like bells, lifted like goblets; the red petals blaze, the stars have horns. Thick whiskers and a broad face, a fine hero; majestic spirit and high crown, how lofty. The later-blooming pomegranate is famous in vain; the peach and apricot of the same time are ashamed of their frivolity. Zhurong and Yandi govern the southern land; is this flower not the lord of all flowers? The nesting bird must bear the young of the red phoenix; the fallen flowers are meant to turn into coral trees. Year after year among the Five Ridges, northerners have no road by which to gaze upon its vermilion face. I wish to become flying catkins clothing all under heaven, never speaking of the frontier wind and northern snow's cold. - Chen Gongyin, Qing dynasty
Ten zhang of coral is the kapok; its flowers bloom redder and fresher than morning clouds. Every tree in the southern sky is a beacon fire, yet none can compare to the loveliness of the kapok! Towering ancient trunks vie in twisting coils; when flowering there are no leaves, how abundant the blossoms! White ones dot the branches like butterfly cocoons; red ones burn like hibiscus sand. - Qu Dajun, Qing dynasty
[Tang] Bai Juyi
A patterned padded jacket newly made, silk soft and cotton even, warm yet light.
Rising in the morning, one loves to wrap up and sit facing the sun; going out in the evening, it is fitting to wear it treading through snow.
The crane cloak's down is sparse and has no substance; kapok flowers are cold and gain only empty fame.
In ease and comfort one often sighs as night encroaches; lying steady and drowsy, one sleeps until dawn.
The common people suffer much cold with no means of relief; how can one feel anything at being warm alone?
In my heart I think of the hardships of farming and mulberry work; in my ears it is as if I hear the sounds of hunger and cold.
How can I get a great fur robe ten thousand zhang long, to cover Luoyang city together with you?
Bamboo Branch Song [Tang]
Huangfu Song
Betel nut flowers bloom and partridges cry; the male flies through the miasmic mist, and the female flies too.
Kapok flowers are gone and lychees hang low; a thousand flowers, ten thousand flowers await my lord's return.
Hibiscus twin-born, one heart linked; flowers press against the lattice, eyes should pierce through.
In the banquet the candle's tears are red; the joy-producing peach pit is shared by two.
Slanting river winds rise and stir crosswise waves; splitting open the lotus seed, the bitter heart is much.
On the hilltop peach blossoms, in the valley bottom apricot blossoms; the two flowers, fair and graceful, reflect each other from afar.
Li Weigong
[Tang] Li Shangyin
The crimson-sashed disciples' sound and dust are cut off; the lovely one before the phoenix mirror, former meetings are rare.
Today one has come to the land of song and dance; kapok flowers are warm and partridges fly.
[Tang] Li Shangyin
In the front pavilion the rain curtain is sorrowful and not rolled up; in the rear hall the fragrant trees are seen darkly and dimly.
The scenery of Stone City resembles the Yellow Springs; at midnight the wandering man vainly shoots his mulberry-wood pellet.
The silk fan summons wind from the heaven's gate; light curtains and green screens, waves swirl in the depths.
Is the lonely soul of Shu accompanied or not? For several nights the miasmic flowers have bloomed on the kapok.
In the cassia palace the lingering shadow's light is hard to capture; gently fragrant orchids break open with soft, soft words.
One would make the Silver River fall into one's bosom, and not let the Star Consort constantly come and go.
Muddy water and clear waves, how different are their sources? The Ji River's water is clear, the Yellow River's is turbid.
How can one get thin mist to rise from the pale yellow skirt, and with hand receive the cloud carriage and call the Great Lady?
Golden Thread Song / Congratulations to the Bridegroom
[Song] Liu Chenweng
Leaf upon leaf, leaping pearl rain. The inner lake connects onward, ten li of red fragrance, painted oars all raised. Last night I dreamed of heaven's wind and the high yellow swan, looking down on the human world, what place it is. But it shakes the earth, the tide's sound like a drum. Bamboo pavilion and towers, green green grass; ask the kapok, has the traveler's soul returned or not. The plate weeps dew, the temple bell speaks. Waking from the dream, it is just like Qu Yuan's bitterness. I sigh that in spirit wandering, all former times are no longer, and tomorrow is the Double Fifth. Before my eyes is the Li Sao with no one to compose it; forgetting your sorrow, one mourns antiquity. Let me in drunkenness, oh oh, thread upon thread. Vague and distant is the Maoling old man Anqi Sheng; together at Hao Pond, parting at night, still in Chu. I gather the green of the ravine, and long stand waiting.
Song of Kapok Flowers [Qing] Chen Gongyin. In Guangdong, in the second and third months of the year, thousands upon thousands of trees bloom with vermilion flowers. Like Yao shooting ten suns emerging from the vast sea, and still more like the Wei palace's ten thousand torches encircling a high terrace. Covered they are like bells, lifted like goblets; the red petals blaze, the stars have horns. Thick whiskers and a broad face, a fine hero; majestic spirit and high crown, how lofty! The later-blooming pomegranate is famous in vain; the peach and apricot of the same time are ashamed of their frivolity. Zhurong and Yandi govern the southern land; is this flower not the lord of all flowers? The nesting bird must bear the young of the red phoenix; the fallen flowers are meant to turn into coral trees. Year after year among the Five Ridges, northerners have no road by which to gaze upon its vermilion face. I wish to become flying catkins clothing all under heaven, never speaking of the frontier wind and northern snow's cold.
Related Songs
Kapok Flower
Performed by: Chen Haibin; Lyrics by: Zhou Weiyin; Composed by: Chen Haibin; Arranged by: Chen Haibin; Post-production mixing: Huanyin Studio; Album: Immortal Flowers Bloom. Lyrics: You gaze at the kapok, can you miss it, escaping my sight and guarding forever. But kapok, kapok never remembers the past, the past, the old scenes. In late autumn the kapok, a ground full of longing; the cold cold wind has blown away the fair face. But kapok, kapok never fulfills it, lost, lost all vows. A kapok leaf drifts down, I lie awake all night, wiping away your world from my memories. But year after year it is still that kapok flower, kapok flower, that kapok flower.
Flower Language and Symbolism
Flower language: Cherish the people around you, cherish the happiness before your eyes.
It is said that the eleventh day of April is the day the kapok flowers bloom.
Kapok flowers are relatively large and orange-red in color, extremely beautiful, and can be enjoyed for their beauty. In ancient Guangzhou, kapok trees were planted very widely, among which the more than ten trees in front of the Nanhai God Temple were the most ancient. Every year in the second month of the old calendar, kapok flowers bloom in full, and as many as several thousand people come to view them each day, making a lively scene, and Qu Dajun of the Qing dynasty praised it with "Song of the Ancient Kapok Flowers at the Nanhai God Temple." Now there are still two ancient kapok trees at the Nanhai God Temple, having endured wind and frost for a long time, still tall and upright.
"People say it is uncanny because in spring, autumn and winter it is always green, growing luxuriantly in dark green, emerald green and pale green. When summer comes, everything is different again. It begins to release its magic, bit by bit, freeing the most evil and most bewitching temper within, driving out green completely, and on the bare branches suddenly bursts forth bright, enchanting flowers, burning with reckless abandon like dry firewood meeting a blazing flame, monotonous in color yet not low-key."
Folk Legend
Legend says that in Wuzhi Mountain there was an old Li hero named Jibei, who often led the people to defeat the invasions of other ethnic groups. Once, because a traitor informed on him, the old hero was captured, and the enemy tied him to a kapok tree and tortured him cruelly; the old hero remained unyielding, and was finally cruelly killed. Later the old hero turned into kapok trees, so the kapok tree is called "Jibei," in memory of this old ethnic hero. How did the name hero tree come about then? Well, look at its trunk: on the tall, self-standing trunk grow thorny growths, not allowing idlers and others to climb at random; the branches extend horizontally in whorls, as if declaring sovereignty to the sky; when flowering there are no leaves, and after the flowers all fall the leaves grow again; it truly has bold spirit, so it also has the fine name "hero tree." However, the earliest person to call kapok a hero was Chen Gongyin of the Qing dynasty, who in his "Song of Kapok Flowers" described the kapok flower as "thick whiskers and a broad face, a fine hero; majestic spirit and high crown, how lofty." From then on people called the kapok tree the hero tree. As for the kapok flower, the origin of that name is rather pictographic - after the kapok flower fades, it forms cotton wadding, and the cotton wadding is tied on the big tree. Cotton on the tree, so it is called kapok flower. Kapok, the peculiar hero among trees of the southern land: the tree form is tall and upright, the wood tough; when the flowers bloom they are fiery red and ardent without needing the slightest foil of green leaves; once the flowering period passes they fall decisively to the soil, allowing not the least decline; the flowers can be eaten and can also clear heat and detoxify, giving people gentle care.
Kapok was first recorded in Ge Hong's Miscellaneous Records of the Western Capital from the Jin dynasty: during the Western Han, Zhao Tuo, King of Nanyue, presented to the Han emperor a beacon-fire tree, "one zhang two chi tall, one trunk with three branches, whose glow at night seemed about to burn," and it is said that this beacon-fire tree was the kapok tree.
The kapok tree is a fast-growing, strongly heliophilous tree species, and its crown always rises above the surrounding tree groups to strive for sunlight and rain. This striving, upward spirit of the kapok and its bright, fire-like large red flowers have been praised as the hero tree and hero flower. The earliest person to call kapok "hero" was Chen Gongyin of the Qing dynasty, who in his "Song of Kapok Flowers" once described the kapok flower as "thick whiskers and a broad face, a fine hero; majestic spirit and high crown, how lofty." A large expanse of kapok in full bloom is rather imposing. Just at the New Year, choosing the fiery red hero tree, Yachi wishes everyone a merry Christmas and a happy New Year, cherishing the happiness before your eyes, and may next year be even more prosperous!
The Flower Language of Kapok
Cherish the people around you, cherish the happiness around you.
Kapok Flower Pictures
Frangipani Plumeria rubra 'Acutifolia' Frangipani Illustrated Guide: How to Grow Frangipani / How to Propagate Frangipani
Frangipani ProfileFrangipani Plumeria rubra 'Acutifolia'
Frangipani Cultivation Methods and Precautions: Introduction to Frangipani
Frangipani, a deciduous small tree of the dogbane family, also known as Burmese gardenia, has pure white petals and a pale yellow flower center, very much like egg white wrapping an egg yolk, hence its name. Every year between April and May, the dignified and elegant frangipani blooms one after another, with a rich fragrance that penetrates the heart; its 5 petals are arranged in overlapping whorls, very much like the paper pinwheels children fold by hand. In fact, besides white, frangipani also comes in red and yellow, all of which can have essential oils extracted for making high-grade cosmetics, soap and food additives, at a rather high price and with great commercial development potential; the fresh flowers can also be dried in the sun for brewing tea, commonly known as frangipani tea, which has the effects of treating heat dysentery and moistening the lungs and detoxifying.
Aliases: Burmese gardenia, egg-yolk flower, dajihua, Indian jasmine. In Xishuangbanna in China and some Southeast Asian countries, frangipani is designated by Buddhist temples as one of the "five trees and six flowers" and is widely planted, hence it is also called "temple tree" or "pagoda tree." Its tree form is handsome and oddly shaped, and the entire plant's stems contain milky sap. The branch tips of Burmese gardenia are blunt and rounded; once winter comes and the leaves all fall, it looks bare like deer antlers, so Burmese gardenia is also called "deer antler tree."
Morphological Characteristics of Frangipani
Deciduous shrub or small tree. Branchlets thick, fleshy and succulent. Leaves large, thickly papery, mostly clustered at the branch tips, with the veins joined into a marginal vein near the leaf margin. Flowers several, clustered at the branch tips; the corolla is tubular, about 5-6 cm in diameter, 5-lobed, milky white outside and bright yellow at the center, extremely fragrant. Flowering period May to October. Frangipani blooms in summer, clear-fragrant and elegant; after the leaves fall, the bare trunk bends naturally, and its form is very beautiful. It is suitable for planting in courtyards and lawns, can also be potted, and can be used as medicine. The frangipani tree form is handsome, with many branching stems, oddly shaped and in a thousand postures; the leaves resemble loquat, and after they fall in winter, semicircular leaf scars remain on the branch tips, quite like deer antlers adorned with beautiful spots, making it truly the top choice among small ornamental trees for tropical landscaping, courtyard arrangement and potted display. The bark is thin and grayish green, rich in toxic white sap, which can be used for external application to treat scabies, redness and swelling and other conditions. The wood is white, light and soft, and can be made into musical instruments, tableware or furniture.
About 5 m tall, up to 8.2 m at the tallest, with a diameter at breast height of 15-20 cm; branches stout, somewhat fleshy, with abundant milky sap, green, hairless. Leaves thickly papery, oblong-obovate or oblong-elliptic, 20-40 cm long and 7-11 cm wide, apex shortly acuminate, base narrowly cuneate, leaf surface dark green, leaf underside pale green, hairless on both sides; the midrib is sunken on the leaf surface and slightly raised on the underside, the lateral veins flat on both sides, 30-40 on each side, not reaching the leaf margin and netting together into a marginal vein; petiole 4-7.5 cm long, with glands at the base on the upper side, hairless. Cyme terminal, 16-25 cm long and about 15 cm wide, hairless; peduncle three-forked, 11-18 cm long, fleshy, green; pedicel 2-2.7 cm long, pale red; calyx lobes small, ovate, apex rounded, about 1.5 mm long and wide, not spreading but pressed tightly against the corolla tube; the corolla is white outside, with the outside of the corolla tube and the left side of the outside of the lobes slightly tinged with pale red markings, the inside of the corolla yellow, 4-5 cm in diameter, the corolla tube cylindrical, 1-1.2 cm long and about 4 mm in diameter, hairless outside, densely pubescent inside, with no scales at the throat; corolla lobes broadly obovate, apex rounded, base overlapping to the left, 3-4 cm long and 2-2.5 cm wide; stamens inserted at the base of the corolla tube, filaments very short, anthers oblong, about 3 mm long; carpels 2, free, hairless, style short, stigma oblong, constricted in the middle, apex 2-lobed; each carpel has many ovules. Follicles paired, widely divergent, cylindric, tapering toward the apex, about 11 cm long and about 1.5 cm in diameter, green, hairless; seeds obliquely oblong, flat, 2 cm long and 1 cm wide, with a membranous wing at the apex, the wing about 2 cm long. Flowering period May to October; in cultivation the fruit period rarely sets fruit, generally July to December.
Ecological Habits of Frangipani
Frangipani is a strongly heliophilous flower; the more abundant the sunlight, the more luxuriant its growth, and the more numerous and fragrant its flowers, so shading is not needed in summer. When maintained indoors in winter, it will suffer cold damage if the temperature is below 5°C; below 8°C or with poor ventilation it easily drops its leaves and enters a long period of dormancy. The following spring is the time when frangipani sprouts and grows leaves; because it is a succulent plant, water should not be excessive, following the principles of not watering until dry, watering as soon as dry, watering thoroughly when watering, and never allowing waterlogging. Because frangipani likes calcareous soil, when fertilizing take care to supplement calcium; bone meal can be added, or apply decomposed organic fertilizer rich in calcium such as eggshells, fish bones and crushed bones.
It likes a high-temperature, high-humidity environment with ample sunlight and good drainage. It is robust by nature and can tolerate drought, but fears cold and avoids waterlogging; it likes acidic soil but is also resistant to alkalinity. For cultivation, deep, fertile, well-aerated acidic sandy loam rich in organic matter is best. The suitable growth temperature is 23°C to 30°C; in summer it can tolerate extreme high temperatures of 40°C; when the temperature is below 15°C, the plant begins to shed leaves and go dormant, until around April of the following year. In temperate zones it easily sheds leaves in winter when cultivated; in southern China it can be planted in the ground and is also suitable for potting, while in the Yangtze River basin and to the north it can only be potted, 80 cm to 150 cm tall, giving off a clear fragrance when in bloom.
Frangipani is deeply loved by people in many regions and countries. In Laos, frangipani is revered as the national flower; in the tropical tourist destination of Hawaii, people like to string the picked frangipani flowers into garlands as wearable ornaments, so frangipani is also a festive symbol of Hawaii; in our country, frangipani is not only the city flower of Zhaoqing City, Guangdong Province, but also the best specialty dish with which the hospitable Dai people of Xishuangbanna welcome guests.
Growth Characteristics
The original species, "Red Frangipani" (P. rubra Linn.), has bright red flowers and is relatively rare; most are cultivated varieties. The flowers are 5-6 cm long, white on the outside with a slight reddish tinge, and yellow at the base inside, commonly described as "white crown, yellow heart," resembling an egg white with an egg yolk, hence the name. Every year in August and September, when it blooms, it gives off a refreshing frangipani fragrance. Tourists who have visited the Seven Star Crags in Gaoyao County, Guangdong, can all taste a beverage with a distinctive flavor, frangipani tea, which is actually tea made by scenting and brewing dried frangipani flowers. The genus Plumeria has about 7 species. Frangipani originated in tropical America and is now widely planted in tropical regions. In some countries, it is often planted around temples, hence it is also called "temple tree" or "pagoda tree." It is cultivated in many southern provinces of our country, and plants of both flower colors exist. This tree rarely bears fruit, but cuttings root easily, so there is no need to propagate by seed. Before 1778 AD, historical records already documented the cultivation of frangipani. By this calculation, frangipani has had a history of several hundred years in China. This flower is brightly colored, much like an egg yolk, so it is also called frangipani and egg-yolk flower. Guangdong is in the subtropics, with long summers, short winters, and sufficient sunshine, which is very suitable for the growth of frangipani. Therefore, frangipani is planted throughout the urban and rural areas of Guangdong to green and beautify gardens. Besides being used for garden ornament, its most important use is for brewing tea. Frangipani flowers are yellow or light purple, with a fleshy feel, elegant, plain, and pure, very lovely. After picking frangipani from the tree, it can be brewed directly with boiling water, and the drink is fragrant and smooth. Dried frangipani can be brewed into excellent tea.
The Distribution Range of Frangipani
Origin distribution: native to Mexico in the Americas. It has been introduced and cultivated in China, and is cultivated in Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan, Fujian and other provinces and regions, and has escaped to the wild in the mountains of southern Yunnan. Areas along the Yangtze River and to its north need to cultivate it in greenhouses. Although the hometown of frangipani is far away in the region from Mexico to Venezuela in the Americas, its traces are now found throughout the world's tropical and subtropical regions.
Variety Classification of Frangipani
Frangipani includes white frangipani and red frangipani, the latter designated by Buddhist temples as one of the "Five Trees and Six Flowers"; our country has already introduced them and is cultivating them.
The Functions, Uses, and Application Value of Frangipani
Frangipani, a deciduous small tree of the Apocynaceae family, also known as Burmese gardenia, has pure white petals and a pale yellow flower center, very much like an egg white wrapping an egg yolk, hence the name. Every year between April and May, the dignified and elegant frangipani blooms one after another, with a rich fragrance that refreshes the heart. Its 5 petals are arranged in overlapping whorls, especially like the paper pinwheels children fold by hand. In fact, besides white, frangipani also comes in red and yellow. All can be used to extract essence for making high-grade cosmetics, soap, and food additives, and the price is quite high, with great potential for commercial development; the fresh flowers can also be dried for brewing tea, commonly known as frangipani tea, which has the effects of treating heat dysentery and moistening the lungs and detoxifying. The frangipani tree has a beautiful form, with many branches on the stem in strange and varied shapes; its leaves resemble loquat leaves, and after they fall in winter, semicircular leaf scars remain on the branches, much like deer antlers dotted with beautiful spots, making it the preferred small tree species for tropical landscaping, courtyard arrangement, and potted ornament. The bark is thin and grayish green, rich in toxic white sap, which can be used externally to treat scabies, redness and swelling, and other conditions. The wood is white, light and soft, and can be made into musical instruments, tableware, or furniture.
The Dietary Therapy or Medicinal Value of Frangipani
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Both the flowers and bark of frangipani can be used as medicine, having the effects of clearing heat, detoxifying, treating dysentery, moistening the lungs, relieving cough, and calming asthma; the fresh flowers can be used to extract aromatic oil, used for blending cosmetics and high-grade soap. The flowers are fragrant and can be used to extract fragrance, or after drying can be used to make beverages, and can also be used medicinally. The fresh flowers can be used to extract aromatic oil for blending cosmetics and high-grade soap, and the dried flowers can be used to scent tea. Both its flowers and bark can be used as medicine, with effects of clearing heat, detoxifying, treating dysentery, moistening the lungs, and relieving cough.
1. Excellent Edible Value
Frangipani also has excellent edible value, among which making frangipani herbal tea from dried frangipani is a very good leisure way to consume frangipani. Frangipani herbal tea is one of the five major herbal teas that Guangzhou people who love flower tea often drink during leisure after meals, and it is very popular among Guangzhou friends. Frangipani tea has a faint sweet taste and is very suitable for drinking in summer, with a good effect of relieving summer heat and reducing body heat.
2. Very High Medicinal Value
After being dried in the air, frangipani can be used as a Chinese herbal medicine, with effects of clearing heat and relieving summer heat, moistening the lungs and throat, and can also treat diseases such as sore throat. Frangipani is a Chinese herbal medicine with a slightly sweet and bitter taste. For treating summer heatstroke, dysentery that often occurs in summer, abdominal pain and stomachache, and other diseases, it can be used together with other Chinese herbal medicines for treatment. It can also treat cough after the weather turns cool in autumn, with effects of resolving phlegm and clearing the lungs.
Traditional Chinese Medicine Properties and Medicinal Value
Frangipani has had a history of several hundred years since settling in our country. In Pinghu Subdistrict, Shenzhen, there is an ancient frangipani tree that has grown for more than 400 years. Both the flowers and bark of frangipani can be used as medicine, and can clear heat and detoxify, moisten the lungs, and relieve cough. In Guangdong, white frangipani is often dried to make herbal tea beverages, and it is very popular. At the same time, the flowers can also be used to extract aromatic oil for blending cosmetics and high-grade soap. According to the latest reports, the sap of frangipani can treat a skin disease caused by HIV infection or anticancer drugs and electrotherapy.
Frangipani is one of the five flowers in Guangdong's famous herbal tea "Five Flower Tea." It is cool in nature and sweet and bland in taste; it enters the large intestine and stomach meridians, and has the effects of moistening the lungs and detoxifying, clearing heat and removing dampness, and lubricating the intestines. For example, "Lingnan Caoyao Lu" says it can "treat damp-heat dysentery, tenesmus and a heavy tongue, and can also moisten the lungs and detoxify."
[Medicinal Name]: Frangipani
[Source]: The flowers of the Apocynaceae plant frangipani.
[Effects]: Clear heat and relieve summer heat, clear the intestines and stop diarrhea, relieve cough and resolve phlegm.
[Indications]: Treats heatstroke, dysentery, abdominal pain, and cough.
[Nature, Flavor, and Meridian Entry]: "Nanning City Drug Record": "Sweet, neutral, non-toxic." Enters the lung and large intestine meridians.
[Usage and Dosage]: Oral administration: decocted in soup, 7.5-20 grams.
[Medication Contraindications and Precautions]: For all cases of summer dampness combined with cold, cold-damp diarrhea, and lung-cold cough, it should be used with caution.
[Drug Compatibility]: With watermelon rind, clears heat and promotes fluid production; with purslane, clears and drains qi-level heat; with bamboo shavings, for lung-heat cough.
[Aliases]: Egg-yolk flower, Leitichui flower ("Guangdong Chinese Medicine" II), Dajihua ("Guangxi Medicinal Plant Record"). Frangipani, also known as: Burmese gardenia ("Illustrated Catalogue of Plants")
[Prescription Names]: Frangipani, egg-yolk flower, Burmese gardenia, Dajihua.
[Distribution of Animal and Plant Resources]: Distributed in Guangdong, Guangxi, and other places.
[Collection and Storage of Medicinal Materials]: Pick fully opened flowers in summer and autumn, and dry them in the sun.
[Latin Name]: Plumeria rubra L. Var. Acutifolia (Poir.) Bailey.
[Processing Method]: After picking, dry in the sun.
[Textual Research]: From "Lingnan Caoyao Lu."
[Identification of Crude Medicinal Material]: Dried flowers, yellow-brown to brown, wrinkled, mainly consisting of 5 large spirally arranged petals. Petals obovate, about 3 cm long and about 1.5 cm wide; the lower part is united into a slender tube, about 1.5 cm long. Contains 5 stamens, filaments extremely short; sometimes a small ovate ovary can be seen. Odor mellow and fragrant, taste bland and slightly bitter. Those with clean flowers, dry, yellow-brown in color, and aromatic in odor are considered better.
Latex: Contains lupeol and its acetate, etc.
[Effects]: Clear heat; promote diuresis; relieve summer heat
[Indications]: Cold and fever; lung-heat cough; damp-heat jaundice; diarrhea and dysentery; urinary tract stones; prevention of heatstroke.
[Discussions by Various Authors]:
1. "Lingnan Caoyao Lu": Treats damp-heat dysentery, tenesmus, and can also moisten the lungs and detoxify.
2. "Nanning City Drug Record": Relieves cough.
[Collection and Storage]: Collect stem bark in summer and autumn; collect flowers when blooming; dry in the sun or use fresh.
[Medication Contraindications]: For all cases of summer dampness combined with cold, cold-damp diarrhea, and lung-cold cough, it should be used with caution.
[Effect Classification]: Heat-clearing medicine; summer-heat-dispelling medicine
[Processing Method]: After picking, dry in the sun.
[Identification of Crude Medicinal Material]: Character identification: flowers mostly wrinkled into strips, or flat triangular, light brownish yellow or yellow-brown. After moistening and flattening, the calyx is relatively small. Corolla lobes 5, obovate, about 3 cm long and about 1.5 cm wide, arranged in a spiral; the lower part is united into a slender tube, about 1.5 cm long. Stamens 5, filaments extremely short. Sometimes an ovate ovary can be seen. Odor fragrant, taste slightly bitter. Those with complete flowers, yellow-brown color, and fragrant odor are considered better.
[Differential Identification of Drug Application]: Agastache rugosa and frangipani are important medicines for summer dampness. Agastache rugosa is slightly warm, refreshes the spleen and invigorates the stomach, and is excellent at transforming dampness and releasing the exterior; frangipani is clear and fragrant and slightly cool, clears the lungs and benefits the intestines, and is strong at resolving phlegm and stopping dysentery. For summer dampness with exterior syndrome, Agastache rugosa is often used; for summer heat with dysentery, frangipani is commonly used.
[Nature and Flavor]: Sweet; slightly bitter; cool in nature.
[Medicinal Source]: The flowers or stem bark of the Apocynaceae plant frangipani.
[Usage and Dosage]:
Oral administration: decocted in soup, flowers 5-10 grams; stem bark 10-15 grams.
External use: appropriate amount, pounded and applied.
[Source]: "Chinese Materia Medica"
(1) To prevent heatstroke: 20 grams of frangipani, decoct in water, take the liquid, and drink it as tea.
(2) To treat bacillary dysentery: 10 grams of frangipani, 30 grams of kapok flower, 10 grams of coptis chinensis, 10 grams of phellodendron, 30 grams of Chinese knotweed, decoct in water, 1-2 doses per day.
(3) To treat acute bronchitis: 10 grams of frangipani, 30 grams of honeysuckle, 30 grams of houttuynia cordata, add 800 milliliters of water, decoct to 200 milliliters, take in 2 divided doses.
(4) To treat acute infectious hepatitis: 10 grams of frangipani, 30 grams of artemisia capillaris, 9 grams of ash bark, 12 grams of rhubarb, decoct in water, 1-2 doses per day.
(5) To treat indigestion: 20 grams of frangipani, 10 grams of coptis chinensis, 30 grams of Chinese knotweed, 15 grams of plantain herb, decoct in water, 2-3 doses per day.
(6) To treat cold and fever: 20 grams of frangipani, 10 grams of chrysanthemum, 10 grams of honeysuckle, 6 grams of mint (added later), add 350 milliliters of water, decoct to 150 milliliters, take in 2 divided doses.
(7) To treat food accumulation in children with loss of appetite and diarrhea: 9 grams of frangipani, 20 grams of malt, 10 grams of medicated leaven, 9 grams of microcos paniculata leaves, decoct in water, 2 doses per day.
(8) To treat dysentery and summer diarrhea: 20-40 grams of frangipani, decoct in water, 1 dose per day.
(9) To treat lung-heat cough: 3-12 grams of frangipani, decoct in water, 1 dose per day.
Modern Research on Chemical Components
The bark contains α-amyrin, β-amyrin, β-sitosterol, plumieride, scopoletin, etc. The root contains iridoid compounds: 13-O-caffeoylplumieride, 13-deoxyplumieride, β-dihydroplumericinic acid glucosyl ester, 1α-plumieride, la-protoplumericin A, 8-isoplumieride.
Flowers: Contain frangipani acid, glycosides, and volatile oil. Stem bark: Contains plumieride (C21H26O12).
Root: Contains plumericin, isoplumericin, fulvoplumierin, β-dihydroplumericin, and β-dihydroplumericinic acid.
Leaves: Contain flavonoid glycosides: kaempferol glucoside and quercetin glucoside.
Pharmacological Effects
Antibacterial components such as plumericin isolated from the roots of red frangipani (Plumeria rubra) and pink frangipani (P. rubra var. alba) from Egypt have strong antifungal effects and obvious inhibitory effects on Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria as well as tuberculosis. Plumieride also has significant inhibitory effects on Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria.
In addition, plumieride also has an obvious laxative effect. Its ED50 for laxation in mice is 0.12 g/kg. Patients taking 0.2-0.3 g before bedtime can have 1-2 bowel movements the next morning. Doses greater than 0.3 g also have a diuretic effect. Water extracts of the stems, bark, leaves, and peeled stems of red frangipani have local anesthetic and antispasmodic effects on rabbits, guinea pigs, cats, and mice.
The Garden Use of Frangipani Has Excellent Ornamental Value
From the name frangipani, we can guess its flower shape. Frangipani has small branches and thick leaves, and its flower shape is a crown-shaped bloom composed of 5 to 6 petals. The outer ring of the flower is pure white, and the inner ring shows the color of an egg yolk, so the whole frangipani flower resembles an egg, hence the name. From the familiar dazzling array of colors to the lovely frangipani, it blooms brilliantly in summer, giving people a feeling of purity and elegant temperament, and is very suitable for careful appreciation.
Frangipani is the most beautifully flowering succulent in tropical regions. In tropical ground planting, its height can reach 4-5 m, and it is an important garden plant. In the north, it can only be grown in pots for ornament, usually below 2 m. When cultivated in a greenhouse, frangipani loses its leaves in winter, which is a manifestation of its poor cold tolerance, but after leaf fall, the bare curved trunk resembles a bonsai naturally and also has strong ornamental value.
Garden Application
The flowers are white with a yellow center and fragrant; the leaves are large and dark green; the crown is beautiful, and it is often planted for ornament. In Guangdong and Guangxi, people often collect its flowers, dry them in the sun, and brew them as tea, which can treat damp-heat dysentery and has effects of detoxifying and moistening the lungs. Propagation methods include cuttings or layering, and they root very easily.
In gardens and courtyards, the plant height is 3 m to 5 m. The trunk is not very straight and is often somewhat twisted and slanting. The branches are fleshy and thick, and young branches have a slight purple tinge. The forks vary in length and resemble deer antlers. Leaves are alternate, thickly papery, oblong or oblong-elliptic, 20 cm to 30 cm long and 7 cm to 10 cm wide, sparsely gathered at the upper part of the branches. In summer and autumn (May to October), cymes grow from the branch tips, with several to more than ten flowers, like flowers tied on deer antlers, quite interesting. The flower buds are pale red; the lower part of the corolla is tubular, and the upper part is five-lobed, with obovate lobes overlapping to the left. The outside of the corolla is white with a slight reddish tinge, fully red ones are relatively few, and the inner base is yellow. "White crown and yellow center" resembles an egg white wrapping an egg yolk, hence the name frangipani, also known as Burmese gardenia. It is an evergreen plant of the Apocynaceae family and the genus Plumeria.
Propagation Methods of Frangipani: Grafting Propagation
Red frangipani is the original species of yellow-white frangipani, and ordinary yellow-white frangipani is actually a variety of red frangipani. Red frangipani should be able to bear fruit in Hainan. Its fruit is a follicle, long-horned, purplish red, and the seeds have cilia. Sowing and raising seedlings grow relatively quickly, and one-year-old seedlings can reach 50 to 60 cm in height.
As for the method of using yellow-white frangipani as rootstock to graft and propagate red frangipani, it should be feasible, and it is advisable to use cut grafting, cleft grafting, or side grafting. The problem is that the cut wound exudes a relatively large amount of latex, which will affect the survival rate of grafting to varying degrees. You can refer to the grafting methods for succulent plants such as banyan and desert rose. The time can be arranged in March to April or October. During grafting, the knife should be operated quickly, completing the cut in one stroke, and striving to complete the alignment of the cambium layers between the rootstock and scion cut surfaces before a large amount of latex flows out; if a relatively large amount of latex seeps from the cut surface, use a clean piece of gauze or paper to quickly wipe it away, then immediately align the rootstock and scion cuts, then tie the union with a strip, add a plastic bag to retain moisture, and place it in a semi-shaded place. After the scion survives, remove the bag, untie the tying strip, and give it normal water and fertilizer management.
Cultivation Techniques of Frangipani
Frangipani prefers a hot and humid climate, is drought-tolerant, and likes to grow in limestone rocky areas. Cutting propagation roots very easily. Generally, it is suitable in mid-to-late May to cut 20-30 cm long branches from the base of the branches. White latex flows from the cut, so it needs to be placed in a cool, ventilated place for 2-3 days to let the wound form a protective film before cutting, because cutting with latex makes it prone to rot. Insert into clean vermiculite or a sand bed or a shallow sand pot, then spray water, place indoors or under an outdoor shade shed, and spray water once every other day to keep the substrate moist. After insertion, move to a semi-shaded place 15-20 days later to let it receive weak light; it will root in 30-35 days, and can be potted in 45 days. After the small cuttings root and survive, transplant them in time into pots with a diameter of 20 cm. Frangipani is not strict about soil and is suitable for planting in loose soil rich in humus. When planting, the roots can be slightly exposed when potting. After planting, place it indoors, let it receive weak light after 1 week, and after another half month it can be placed in a place with sufficient sunlight. Frangipani grows rapidly and needs repotting once every spring, generally into a flowerpot with a diameter of 30 cm. The potting soil can be mixed with 4 parts garden soil, 4 parts horse manure soil, and 2 parts river sand, and each pot also add 100 grams of cake fertilizer or sauce residue, and 50 grams of superphosphate or bone meal. After repotting, water thoroughly, and move it outdoors to a sunny place around Grain Rain.
Frangipani prefers a warm, humid, and sunny growing environment. In summer, it does not need shading and can be placed outdoors in full sun. Summer and autumn are the periods of growth and flowering for frangipani. Water 1-2 times every evening. If it rains in summer and autumn, promptly pour out accumulated water in the pot. From June to November, apply decomposed liquid fertilizer once every 10 days or so, at a concentration of 15%. In the south, frangipani is planted in the open ground, loses its leaves in winter, and grows new leaves the following spring. In the north, potted plants should be moved indoors to a south-facing window in mid-to-late October, paying attention to ventilation and light. Room temperature should be above 10°C. Low temperature and poor indoor ventilation will cause the plant to lose its leaves. When watering indoors, water once every two weeks.
Cultivation Methods: Potting Soil
Potted frangipani should use earthenware pots with good permeability. If using plastic pots, place a layer of broken bricks and tiles or broken hard plastic foam blocks at the bottom of the pot to enhance air and water permeability. Its root system is relatively developed and grows quickly. Small seedlings can be planted in a medium pot with an inner diameter of 20 cm. As the plant grows, it can be moved into a pot one size larger. It is not very strict about soil, and grows best in loose, fertile sandy loam. For home potting, use equal parts leaf mold soil and vegetable garden topsoil, then add a small amount of sand. Repot and change the soil once every spring before sprouting.
Water and Fertilizer
Frangipani likes moisture and is also drought-tolerant, but fears waterlogging. Therefore, watering should be moderate, following the principle of not watering when not dry, watering when dry, watering thoroughly when watering, and not allowing waterlogging. In spring and autumn, water once every 1 to 2 days when the soil is dry. In summer, water once every morning on sunny days, and in the evening water again if the soil is dry. In the rainy season, pay attention to pouring out accumulated water in the pot to prevent root rot. In winter, water once every ten days to half a month, keeping the potting soil slightly moist but not dry. It likes fertilizer. When potting or repotting and changing soil, it is advisable to add 20 grams to 30 grams of bone meal and 50 grams to 80 grams of superphosphate to the culture soil (because it likes to grow in calcareous soil, pay attention to calcium supplementation). From May to October, apply a light, decomposed organic fertilizer or nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium compound fertilizer once every 10 to 15 days. Avoid applying nitrogen fertilizer alone to prevent excessive growth. Do not fertilize in winter.
Light and Temperature
Frangipani is a strongly sun-loving flower. The more sufficient the sunlight, the more luxuriant the growth, and the more numerous and fragrant the flowers. Except that after potting or repotting and changing soil it needs shade for 7 to 10 days, at other times it should be placed in a place with sufficient sunlight. Because it originated in the tropical regions of the Americas, it is not cold-tolerant. Losing leaves in winter when cultivated in temperate zones is a manifestation of its poor cold tolerance, and it should be moved indoors for winter. Before the minimum temperature drops to 10°C, move it indoors, place it in a sunny place, and maintain room temperature at 10°C to 15°C. Keeping it away from television radiation and air-conditioning warm air can prevent leaf drop, but if it is below 8°C or ventilation is poor, it will also drop leaves. As long as it stays above 5°C, it will not freeze to death, and it will sprout and grow leaves the next spring.
Propagation
When planted in temperate zones, frangipani generally does not set seed and is propagated by cuttings. From late May to early June, cut branches about 20 cm long from the branching points as cuttings. White latex will flow from the cut. If inserted without treatment, the cuttings are prone to rot. They can be placed in a well-ventilated, cool place for 2 to 3 days until a protective film forms at the wound before inserting, or the wound can be dipped in plant ash or sulfur powder, and after it is slightly dry, insert into vermiculite or a plain sand pot, place in a well-ventilated shaded place, and frequently spray water on the cuttings to retain moisture. After 20 days, move to a semi-shaded place where sunlight can be seen in the morning or evening. They can root in 30 to 40 days, with a high survival rate, and can be potted in autumn or the next spring.
Cultivation Key Points
1. Likes light and is slightly shade-tolerant, not cold-tolerant, and can be managed extensively, but the branches are brittle and break easily. Therefore, it is advisable to choose well-drained, sunny, wind-sheltered, fertile sandy loam.
2. After planting, water thoroughly and place in a sunny place for cultivation and care to promote flower bud formation.
3. During the growing season, keep the potting soil moist; in winter, pay attention to controlling water; in summer, spray water on the branches and leaves.
4. After the weather warms in spring, apply compound fertilizer once every 10-15 days until flowering.
5. Before the beginning of winter, move it indoors to a sunny place, and the room temperature should be kept above 5°C, so it can overwinter safely.
Pest and Disease Control of Frangipani 1. Frangipani Angular Leaf Spot
1. Main symptoms: Occurs on leaves. In the early stage, the lesions are small brown spots; after expansion, the lesions are polygonal to irregular, with dark black edges and dark brown interiors; in the later stage, the lesions dry up, and under humid conditions black granular substances appear on the lesions.
2. Causes: It is a fungal disease. The pathogen survives in the cultivation substrate and on diseased plant residues. It occurs mostly in spring, can repeatedly infect and cause damage indoors, and is more severe from July to August.
3. Control methods:
(1) Strengthen maintenance, repot in time to renew the substrate, increase the application of phosphorus and potassium fertilizers, and improve the growth vigor of the plant.
(2) In early spring, spray once every 7-10 days with 0.5% Bordeaux mixture, or 70% mancozeb wettable powder 400 times liquid, or carbendazim 600 times liquid.
2. Red Spider Mite
Control by spraying 100-200 times liquid of diesel emulsifiable concentrate.
3. Powdery Mildew
A fungal disease that harms frangipani in environments with high temperature, poor ventilation, and relatively high humidity. A white powdery phenomenon appears on young leaves.
Control: Spray with 50% thiophanate-methyl·sulfur suspension concentrate 800 times liquid, or 20% triadimefon emulsifiable concentrate 2500 times liquid, once every 10 days, for 2 to 3 consecutive times.
4. Scale Insects
Can be controlled by spraying 25% buprofezin wettable powder 2000 times liquid.
5. Rust Disease
Orange-yellow pustules occur on the underside of leaves, and corresponding small light yellow lesions appear on the leaf surface.
Control: 25% triadimefon 1500 to 2000 times liquid can be used.
Cultural Background and Related Knowledge of Frangipani
There are about 7 species worldwide. Native to the West Indies and the Americas, it is now found throughout the world's tropical and subtropical regions. Varieties such as red frangipani and frangipani have been introduced and cultivated in our country. Common cultivation occurs in Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan, and Hainan.
National Flower and City Flower: It is the national flower of Laos. It is the city flower of Zhaoqing, Guangdong. One type is called yellow-flower frangipani because its flower center is egg-yolk yellow; in Hawaii, people like to string yellow-flower frangipani into garlands to present to distinguished guests; another type is called red-flower frangipani because its flowers are red. The flowering period of frangipani is from May to October. It has no mysterious legend, no elegant temperament, no noble graceful posture, but it has a very simple appearance--using five petals to form a fresh flower language full of hope. It is as simple and ordinary as life, so it can always be so close to people, without distance...
Cultural Meaning
Uses: In China's Xishuangbanna and some Southeast Asian countries, frangipani is designated by Buddhist temples as one of the "Five Trees and Six Flowers" and widely planted, so it is also called "temple tree" or "pagoda tree." Frangipani is the best specialty dish with which the hospitable Dai people of Xishuangbanna entertain guests.
The flowers are fragrant and can be used to extract fragrance, or after drying can be used to make beverages and for medicinal purposes, with the effect of removing dampness. The wood is white, light and soft, and can be made into musical instruments, tableware, or furniture.
Title: It is the national flower of Laos. It is the city flower of Zhaoqing, Guangdong.
Frangipani flower meaning: breeding hope, revival, and rebirth. The frangipani blooming season is from May to October. It has no mysterious legends, no elegant temperament, no noble grace, yet it has a very simple appearance -- five petals form a fresh, hope-filled flower meaning. It is as simple and ordinary as life itself, so it can always be so close to people, without distance.
Japanese cuisine name
Ingredients: 4 eggs, white vinegar, salt, a little black pepper, 2 tablespoons mayonnaise.
Instructions:
1. Put clean water in a pot and heat over high heat until boiling, add the eggs, switch to medium heat and cook for 10 minutes. (You can add a little vinegar, which helps the yolks set.) After cooking, remove and let cool.
2. Peel the eggs and cut them in half, scoop out the yolks with a small spoon, and put them in a bowl.
3. Mash the scooped-out yolks, add white vinegar, salt, black pepper and mayonnaise, stir well, then put the mixed yolk back into the egg white halves and it is done.
The flower meaning of frangipani
Breeding hope, revival, and rebirth. The frangipani blooming season is from May to October. It has no mysterious legends, no elegant temperament, no noble grace, yet it has a very simple appearance -- five petals form a fresh, hope-filled flower meaning. It is as simple and ordinary as life itself, so it can always be so close to people, without distance.
Frangipani pictures